Honor Your Priorities This Fall

Do you feel the call to balance?

Fall is a time of introspection. Of gathering our attention and of re-focusing with clarity on those things that matter to us most. If you have been feeling the pull toward refinement, toward getting back to yourself, tyour health, your passion, your art, your family, your service, you are right in sync with the season. Do not ignore the calling back to your clear, bright, true self. You are there waiting. You are worth getting back to.

What is most important to you?

Consider your top life priorities – the things you can really get behind, the things that flush your cheeks with passion, incite you to action and expand the space around your heart. How do your actions and your daily and weekly schedules support your priorities? I don’t mean this in a “you must be your most productive self” kind of way, I mean this in a “I understand what it’s like to act at cross-purposes to my passion” kind of way. It hurts. Ow.

Are you putting the sand or the big rocks into your jar first?

To sum up: Steven Covey tells a story about fitting as many rocks, sand and pebbles into a jar as possible. To do so one must start with the big rocks. If you start with the sand and the pebbles, it is unlikely that all your big rocks will fit into the jar.

In my Fall Cleanse, we temporarily agree that at least one of our BIGGEST ROCKS, is our health. We simply cannot serve ourself, our families, our communities or our planet if we are run down, depleted and out of balance. And nothing is fun, no matter how fun, when we feel crappy about treating ourselves like crap. Contrary to popular belief, putting the big rock of “health” first can be fun. And it makes everything else more fun.

Big Rocks First

For many of us, it is hard to even identify the BIG ROCKS without all kinds of doubts springing up, they are all the different variations of “There’s no way that rock is going to fit in MY jar”:

“I feel so overwhelmed when I think about changing my diet.” -> that’s why in my cleanse I encourage you to prioritize one or two big rocks, and to fill in around the edges as you can.

“I know I should but I don’t think I’ll be able to”. -> You are actually in control of what your own hand puts into your own mouth.

“What’s the point if I’m just going to go back to my crappy ways afterwards”-> Never doubt the power of momentary balance and clarity. Don’t sell yourself short. You might have different big rock priorities after the cleanse, as long as you are honoring your passion, your prana will follow.

“It’s too expensive to eat well” -> If one of your big rocks is to live (or die) depleted, sick and pissy but with a fistful of cash, you’re on your own.

“My family won’t like it” -> Taking time to take care of yourself is a vital part of taking care of others.

A good way to identify the BIG ROCKS in your life is to notice those things you feel the most resistant to. It’s a good sign that there is energy in that part of your life that is waiting to be played out. From all the discussions I have been having with friends and family right now, I know that there is a collective resistance to changing our diet from the excesses of late summer, and I also know there is a collective recognition that it needs to happen.

Put your attention on the BIG ROCK and the rest will follow

So much of our daily food decision making is a moment to moment reactionary response to what’s in front of us – at the store, restaurant, fridge, cafeteria, vending machine etc. We spend so much time deciding yes or no, denying ourselves and treating ourselves, that before we know it, our commitment to our biggest priorities (i.e. personal, family and planetary health) has been eroded by the pebbles and sand decisions of what to eat and what not to eat. No wonder we are exhausted and defeated at the end of the day. (By the way, I love what Claudia Welch and Cate Stillman are saying about this.)

For two weeks we play a game called” planning ahead” to support our personal health priority. You make all the big choices ahead of time and then you to commit fully to them. There’s a menu with recipes, there are daily practices, routines and rituals. After learning about all your options, you choose which health-supporting practices you are willing to do for two weeks. My job is to help you stick to your plan.To help you hear the calling back to your clear, bright, true self. To remind you that you are there waiting. And that you are worth getting back to.